Stoltenberg: NATO Considers Cyberspace as New Military Operational Domain

NATO considers cyberspace as a possible new dimension of warfare, as it feels it should have the ability to respond to cyberattacks and threats, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, Stoltenberg concluded his visit to Washington, during which he met with US President Donald Trump.

“We are in the process of establishing cyber as a military domain. We have air, sea, land, now we will also have cyber as a military domain,” Stoltenberg said at a conference in Washington.

The alliance is ramping up its intelligence and surveillance abilities in an effort to combat cyberthreats,  the NATO secretary general added.

“We have declared that… cyberattacks can trigger Article 5, meaning that we regard cyberattacks as serious, or potentially as serious as kinetic attacks, and therefore, if we have a serious cyberattack, we can trigger Article 5 of the collective defense clause of the alliance,” Stoltenberg underlined.

In March, Stoltenberg said the NATO is progressing on its cyber defense capabilities following the 500 cyber incidents it dealt with every month in 2016.

The NATO member states recognized cyberspace as a fourth operational domain, along with land, air and sea, at the Warsaw Summit last July.